I think we are ready to take a break and try something else.
These are a few leading contenders for our summer trip:
1) National Parks tour
None of us have ever seen the Grand Canyon, never been to Yellowstone or Yosemite. It seems like something we should do.
One of the problems I see with this itinerary, though, is that there is really no way to get the big three in one trip. Plus, I am envisioning that by day 3 we will start hearing
"We're looking at more rocks today?"
You can hit at least 2 in one trip. We did a 2 week road trip one summer, from Seattle, through Yellowstone and the Tetons, Denver, Garden of the Gods, Santa Fe, Grand Canyon, then back through Southern Utah, Salt Lake City, Pendleton Or and then home.
You could do a modified version. Ours was a bit ridiculous, over 2000 miles and while we all loved it and the kids still talk about it...no one has had much interest in a long road trip since! Then again 6 people in a mini van with it so full there were bags under the kids legs the whole time...will do that.
Though that hasn't stopped us from doing it again, just not quite as long. You could start in Yellowstone though and do a half loop of sorts and hit a lot with that, flying out after the Grand Canyon. What was neat for us was the mix of the parks and the cities, wonderful diversity and all of it kept kids from getting bored. As we were driving ourselves, we actually camped during the Grand Canyon part, it was supremely cool and fun. Definitely a trip everyone remembers and a lot of "I want to go back there somedays" from all the kids.
2) Hawaii- Cruise or Land-based trip
Again- none of us have been to Hawaii. Which is a shame because my family really loves tropical locations: the beaches, swimming, snorkeling, volcanoes, rain forest, pineapples, coffee& We would love to visit the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, especially Ben.
This destination is perfect for our family.
Except for the travel time!
Mark doesnt know if we can hack the travel time it takes to get from the east coast to Hawaii. The longest flights we have taken have been about 6 hours, although we did have an entire day travel on our way back from Mexico last February.
Does it make sense to try to schedule an extra day or two and do something on our stopovers in Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Diego?
Then, cruise or land-based? We have price quotes for both.
My 2 cents here. You would LOVE Hawaii and it is a shame. Bur breaking it up is very smart for 2 reasons, time difference and flight time. I would NOT bother with Vegas (to me it is not at all a place for kids in any way shape or form). I would do San Fran, or if you want a bigger Disney fix, do LA and get a couple days in at DLR. SF is so wonderful (plus it does have the Walt Disney Museum which is amazing) and it's got lovely flight options to HI.
I wouldn't cruise. At all. You'll have 4 at sea days, rough seas possibly for some of it and then just port time.
As for multiple islands, that is ideal but it does depend on how long the trip is. Inter-island flight is just as long and tedious as any regular flight, same process and timing, especially out of Honolulu where security can take forever. On the other islands, not so bad. You will lose time in travel, no way to avoid it, probably half a day each time. Which, can be worth it.
Those are sucky flight times if you ask me. If you do a layover in Cali, you can easily get a PM flight to Hawaii that gets you in at night. It will feel really late to you, you'll be ready to crash and then get up and truly enjoy the day. Landing in HI at 6am? if you are renting a condo maybe on the room, not so sure about other spots, especially during spring break. That sounds a bit brutal. If it were me I'd want at least 3 nights on each island to make up for the time lost in travel and even with that, 4 is better. think about what you want out of each island too. I've not been to Kauai yet. it is gorgeous but maybe not the most interesting place for the boys. I'd consider skipping it and going for a 3-3-3 night option or something like that. to me, 2 nights isn't worth it. At all. You'll be frustrated. Ok, I would be. I think you really need 4 somewhere to relax!
3) St. Lucia
Mark and I have been to St. Lucia twice. The first time we went, in the early 90s it was an unspoiled paradise- there is a drive-in volcano , rainforest, beautiful beaches and decent snorkeling. A couple of years later, it was more commercialized and now that it is a frequent cruise stop Im sure it is even more developed.
But it offers a lesser version of some of the things Hawaii has, with much shorter travel times (like 6 hours). But its not Hawaii!!!
I'm sure it's lovely but it will be much more similar to stuff you've done in Mexico I think. I'd go out of the box and I'm not sure this is.
4) West Coast
Mark and I have spent very little time in California, the boys have never been. Mark has never been to Disneyland, I cant really remember the one day I spent there with my dad and brother.
California has a lot to offer- San Diego (World-Class Zoo, Sea World), Newport Beach, Disneyland, Universal Hollywood, San Francisco, Yosemite.
Should we design a trip to visit a lot of these highlights?
One of the obvious advantages of a California/DL itinerary is the very real possibility of meeting up with Brenda (emmysmommy) if we happen to be there at a time when she is not visiting Florida.
Ellen (podsnel) just did a neat trip with some of that in it, you may want to check it out as it's got some great stuff. I do think Hawaii is a better fit for your gang for something really different with all the elements you love, and if you break it up (on the front end, who cares at the end lol), the travel really is manageable
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Haven't made it to the other parks, so I can't comment. Grand Canyon could be a fun stop over on your way to Hawaii!!
Sooooo, we are booked at Disney again. 
Newport Beach!!
Just Kidding. No. Really. Just Kidding! 
That was a really nice surprise. 
